Keep track of health care news and business openings and closings with reporter Melissa Westphal.

Owners discuss what's on tap for Rockford's Tavern on Clark

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By Melissa Westphal

Melissa Westphal covers health care and retail, from news about local hospitals and federal health care reform to business openings and closings. She also writes about nonprofits and other general news.

I got the chance this week to sit down with the owners of Tavern on Clark, a new bar/restaurant I wrote about in last week’s Comings & Goings.

Tavern on Clark will open soon at 755 Clark Drive, off North Bell School Road in Rockford. It’s filling the space left empty when Damon’s closed in 2008.

The restaurant is owned and operated by brothers-in-law Danny Isai and Sam Sabani. Their families have been in the restaurant business for many years, working together to run Alpine View Family Restaurant in Rockford and formerly the Sunrise II Family Restaurant in Byron.

The guys and their team have completely renovated the former sports bar space. Customers might first notice that they leveled the floor between the bar and the dining space. Damon’s used to have a step-down area with big-screen TVs.

The bar has a Cruvinet wine system that pours wine by the glass. The menu will feature American fare tavern-style food, including “big burgers,” steaks and flatbreads, they said.

A private room that seats about 50 people is available for business meetings, bridal and baby showers and other events. The business also has patio seating.

“It’s not your typical franchise restaurant,” Sabani said of Tavern on Clark. “We definitely want to be on the map that way. We’re part of the community, and we want the community to visit us.”

Tavern on Clark is nestled between several hotels, and Isai and Sabani said they’ve been visited by hotel managers who are excited the space will no longer be empty. The eatery will open at 11 a.m. and be open for lunch and dinner daily.

Check out the business on Facebook, and a website is being developed soon. Tavern on Clark is hiring now for all positions, so call 815-708-7088 for more information.